Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Cuyahoga County, Ohio

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Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Cuyahoga County (pronounced /?ka???h?g?/ or /?ka???ho?g?/)^[1]^[2] is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. It is the most populous county in Ohio; as of the 2000 census, the population was 1,393,978. Its county seat is Cleveland. Cuyahoga County is part of Greater Cleveland, a metropolitan area, and Northeast Ohio, a thirteen-county region, joined together in economic development initiatives. The county is named after the Native American word (possibly Algonquian) Cuyahoga, which means "crooked river".^[3] The name is also assigned to the Cuyahoga River, which bisects the county. Former U.S. President James A. Garfield was born in what was Cuyahoga County's Orange Township.

History

Willoughby Township

Geography

Adjacent counties

Demographics
Government
Politics

Allegations of voter fraud in 2004

Communities
National park
References
External links

History

Cuyahoga County was organized on June 7, 1807.^[4] It was later reduced by the creation of Huron, Lake, and Lorain Counties.^[5]

Willoughby Township

In 1835, Willoughby was incorporated as a village. Willoughby Township was separated from Cuyahoga County in 1840, when it was made part of Lake County. In later years, Eastlake, Wickliffe, and Willowick would be formed from parts of the township. What was left of the township became known as Willoughby Hills in 1954.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,246 square miles (3,226 km²).458 square miles (1,187 km²) of it is land and 787 square miles (2,038 km²) of it (63.19%) is water. Part of Cuyahoga Valley National Park is located in the southeastern portion of the county.

Adjacent counties

Across Lake Erie lies Chatham-Kent and Elgin County, Ontario, Canada (north)
Lake County (northeast)
Geauga County (east)
Summit County (southeast)
Medina County (southwest)
Lorain County (west)
Portage County (southeast corner)

Demographics

Cuyahoga County population (Source: United States Census, 2000)

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,393,978 people, 571,457 households, and 354,874 families residing in the county. The population density was 3,040 people per square mile (1,174/km²). There were 616,903 housing units at an average density of 1,346 per square mile (520/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 67.35% White, 27.45% African American, 0.18% Native American, 1.81% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.50% from other races, and 1.68% from two or more races. 3.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 12.3% were of German, 9.1% Irish, 8.7% Italian and 7.3% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000. 89.0% spoke English and 3.2% Spanish as their first language.

There were 571,457 households out of which 28.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.40% were married couples living together, 15.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.90% were non-families. 32.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.00% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 89.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,168, and the median income for a family was $49,559. Males had a median income of $39,603 versus $28,395 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,272. About 10.30% of families and 13.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.40% of those under age 18 and 9.30% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Cuyahoga County is led by the three-member Board of County Commissioners. The current members are Jimmy Dimora, Tim Hagan, and Peter Lawson Jones.

Politics

**Presidential election results, 1960?2008**
Year	Democrat	Republican
2008	68.50% 441,836	30.44% 196,369
2004	66.57% 448,503	32.89% 221,600
2000	62.62% 359,913	33.42% 192,099
1996	60.75% 341,357	29.15% 163,770
1992	52.72% 337,548	29.24% 187,186
1988	58.79% 353,401	40.33% 242,439
1984	55.65% 362,626	43.60% 284,094
1980	50.02% 307,448	41.47% 254,883
1976	56.03% 349,186	41.01% 255,594
1972	48.15% 317,670	49.94% 329,493
1968	53.95% 363,540	35.44% 238,791
1964	71.50% 492,911	28.50% 196,436
1960	59.83% 429,030	40.17% 288,056

Allegations of voter fraud in 2004

It has been alleged that Cuyahoga County was the scene of widespread voter fraud during the 2004 presidential election. Investigations found that there were many voting irregularities, and that many voters were unfairly purged from voter lists or otherwise disenfranchised. Statewide, as many as 42,000 voters were unfairly disenfranchised. However, allegations that this was due to interference by Republican operatives have been disproven. A report by the Greater Cleveland Voter Registration Coalition found that nearly all problems were unintentional and were due to systemic flaws in voter registration systems.^[6]